7 almost you butter Recipes

reduced fat graham cracker squares, crushed finely, reduced-fat margarine, melted, milk or unsweetened soy, creamy peanut butter, sugar-free chocolate pudding mix, light or fat-free cool whip, cool whip or redi-whip for serving

unsalted butter, softened, sugar, eggs, at room temperature, white vinegar, almost 1 cup milk, at room temperature, vanilla, unbleached all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt (cut back if you use ed butter!)

i use a 3 1/2 to 4 lb chuck roast, well marbelized with fat, and if you can find a bone-in roast, that s better yet (but it s almost always boneless chuck that you find at the grocer). i like to quickly rinse the roast in cold water just before i lay it on the cutting board to coat it with seasoned flour. place the following ingredients in a small baggie and shake the closed bag to mix it up, flour, salt, garlic salt, crazy mixed-up salt (if you can tsp get this seasoning, use seasoned salt instead, but jane s is by far the best), pepper, use your hands to generously pat the seasoned flour into the roast, on both sides, flipping the roast a couple times and repeating the process., in a dutch oven or roasting pan large enough to hold the roast, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat - you want your pan and oil to be hot enough to sear the roast well when you put it in the pan. when the oil is just about to the smoking point, put the roast in and cover the pan. let the meat sear until nicely browned on the bottom, then flip the roast. let it sear for a minute or two on the second side, then add, beef stock (i much prefer the boxed stock to the canned broth - it just seems to give the gravy a much richer taste in the end), cover the roasting pan and place it in a pre-heated 300 degree oven. roast for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is fork tender and falls apart easily. i check the roast each hour, quickly opening the lid, just to make sure the stock has not evaporated. as long as your pan has a good seal on it, this shouldn tsp happen. but if necessary, add more stock to the pan., an hour before the roast is done , prepare the mashed potatoes. peel 6 large red potatoes (these work better - at least for me - because they are much moister than the russets, so the mashed potatoes are creamier); cut into 1/4th, and place them in a large saucepan - rinse the cut potatoes 2 times in cold water, then cover them in fresh cold water and place the pan over medium high heat; boil until tender. this is usually about 30 minutes, but it depends on the size of your cuts, so just cook them until you can easily insert a fork into a potato. drain potatoes well, reserving 1 cup of the water for the gravy. add the following to the hot potatoes, butter, sour cream, milk, salt, crazy mixed up salt (use regular salt or garlic salt if jane s salt is not available), pepper, i use a hand masher , but you can use an electric mixer or however you chose to mash the potatoes into a creamy yet firm texture. add more milk if potatoes are too stiff. place the mashed potatoes in a buttered casserole dish, cover with foil, and place in the oven to keep warm while you make the gravy., prepare the gravy, melt 2 tbsp butter, stir in 1/4 cup flour to make a paste, stir in enough beef stock to thin the paste enough to pour., finished roast from the pan and place it on a plate; cover meat with foil to keep warm., place the roasting pan over a medium flame and bring the liquid to a gentle boil (i usually seem to have about 1 1/2 to 2 cups liquid in the pan when the roast is done - if you have less, just use the beef stock to increase your liquid)., use a whisk to gradually whisk in the butter/flour/stock liquid., add 2 tbsp beef base - i use tone s (i prefer beef base to buillon - has a richer flavor and is really worth having on hand, but if you can tsp find this, try knorr s beef buillon extra large cubes), add the 1 cup of reserved potato water, add 1/2 cup beef stock, taste the gravy and see if you want more seasoning. i usually find i don tsp need to add anything at this point, since i have the seasoning from the flour coating and the stock and the beef base. if you think you need more seasoning, add salt and pepper to your taste. beef base will also give you more saltiness., keep the gravy warm while you uncover the meat and use 2 forks to pull the meat apart into small to medium chunks., you are now ready to assemble...

adapted from: the king arthur flour baker s companion: the all-purpose baking cookbook ) italics mine..., makes about 16 round doughnuts plus doughnut holes, salt, nutmeg, sugar, instant yeast, unbleached all purpose flour, egg, milk, butter, melted, vanilla extract, vegetable oil or shortening (2 1/2 lbs), for frying (i used a smaller pot and used less oil), glaze:(i made my own glaze using less amounts since i also made a chocolate glaze as well...but you can just do plain ), milk, sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate glaze, whipping cream(heated to almost boiling), chocolate bar (or use chips about 1/2 cup), add more chocolate if the glaze is too thin, add hot whipping cream over chopped chocolate ...let sit until chocolate is melted and then stir., coconut , chopped nuts, powder sugar, sprinkles if you like, etc., whisk together the dry ingredients. in a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, butter and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture, mixing until well combined., let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead for 6 to 8 minutes by hand or mixer until you have a smooth, soft dough. place the dough in a buttered bowl, turn it over to grease the top, and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in bulk., deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. gently roll the dough out to 1/4 inch(i would do them a quite a bit thicker next time) thickness and cut with a round cutter., cover loosely with greased plastic wrap (i didn tsp bother) and let rise again for about 1 hour(side note: i thought 1 hour was a bit too much...if you let the dough rise too much it will become too soft and in turn absorb too much oil...i would let it rise till almost doubled 20-30 minutes. this of course means that it is rising in a warm environment!), until doubled again., place oil or shortening in a heavy pan or deep skillet and heat to 350of.(this is were you need to get the temp. just right or it will burn the doughnuts if the oil is too hot.) place the doughnuts in the oil, two or three at a time, and fry until golden brown., turn over and cook the second side. this should be no more than a minute(or less...they brown very quickly) on each side. overcooking will make the doughnuts tough. drain on paper towels.to make the glaze, stir the milk into the confectioners sugar until it is smooth, then add the vanilla.when the doughnuts are cool enough to handle (but still warm), dip the tops of the doughnuts into the glaze, then place on a rack so the glaze will drip down.

potatoes, onion, chopped, flour, seasoning salt, pepper, butter, cream of mushroom soup, grated cheddar cheese (can almost use any cheese you like), cream of tartar